A True Hero
by Playing Hooky
Summary: Harry loses his memory after a nasty happening at the Dursley's. What will happen if he grows up at an orphanage with no knowledge of his real name or fame? He doesn't look like he used to. He goes by the name Alexander Black. ABANDONED. FREE FOR ADOPTION
1. A Blue Wig

DISCLAIMER: Nope, not mine

SUMMARY: Harry loses his memory after a nasty happening at the Dursley's. What will he happen if he grows up at an orphanage, with no knowledge of his real name, or fame? He doesn't look like he used to. He goes by the name Alexander Black...

WARNINGS: child abuse, DH spoilers, violence, mild swearing. I come from a very traditional family, so it will most likely contain corporal punishment in future chapters, but only occasionally, and not very graphic.

AN: This is the new version of Chapter 1. Tell me if you like it. I changed the POV, and added a bit at the beginning and the end, it's slightly longer. Sorry for taking so long.

* * *

Chapter 1: A Blue Wig

* * *

My name is Alex. Alexander Black, though technically, I am now Alexander _Potter_. And I was born as _Harry_ Potter (not to mention the many false names I've acquired over the years). So, to keep it simple, you can just call me Alex.

My parents, James and Lily Potter, married when they were eighteen (1978) and had me when they were twenty (1980). It was very late at night when a neighbor friend of my parents arrived to help my mother give birth to me. I was a bit premature, the healers said it would be at least a few more days, but they were wrong. Years later, old Bathilda would tell me how I came as the sun was setting that 31st of July. Some hours later and my birthday would have been August the first. So many things would have been different, if only I had waited a little longer... Not that I could help it, but still.

You see, a prophecy was made when I was just conceived. Some bullshit about some kid destined to defeat the Dark Lord (and by 'Dark Lord' I mean, naturally, old Voldy). Every suffering in my life has been directly or indirectly caused by that goddammed poem, so excuse me for sounding so bitter.

We were hiding at the time, and a very limited number of people had access to us; only one person could reveal the location, though. And happen it did. October 31st, 1981: Voldemort killed my parents. But he couldn't kill me. He was hit by his own curse after it bounced off my forehead, leaving him weak and with no corporal form. Hagrid rescued me from the burning house and brought me to Dumbledore before my godfather arrived. The Headmaster left me at my aunt's doorstep, where my mother's blood could protect me from the Dark Lord and his followers. He never stopped to think, that maybe I would need protection from my relatives. It was ludicrous, of course. Why would Petunia mistreat me, the last link to her dead sister? Surely, she wasn't so bitter. Surely, she wasn't that jealous.

While the magical comunity rejoiced, I was left on my own.

Vernon Dursley was a big man. With no neck, and ham-like arms. His fingers were thick as sausages, and his small, beady eyes were black and greedy. His wife was an exact opposite. Her neck was long enough to compensate for Vernon's lack thereof; and she was thin enough that you could hide three of her behind her husband's humongous body. Blue eyes, blond hair... She might have been considered pretty some time, but her fine features were ruined by the nasty expression she always wore. And her voice - so shrill, she could almost break glass with it. Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but what can I say? I'm a little biased.

Their son (Dudley), was a couple of months older than me. He had his mother's hair and eyes, with his father's complexion and _dashing_ looks. That was sarcasm, in case you didn't get it.

At the beginning, they accepted me as part of the family. I was so little, and probably, didn't remember anything about magic. They wanted to raise me as a _normal, respectable citizen_ who would hold a _normal, respectable job_ and have a _normal, respectable family_. A boring existence, but much better than what it became after my magic started showing. Before my second birthday, they moved me down to the cupboard under the stairs. It scared me at first, but soon I realised that the shadows and spiders would not hurt me. If anything, I felt safer in there; where Uncle Vernon couldn't reach me, where Dudley would not dare to enter. The spiders were my only companions and I talked to them every night, after going through yet another bad day. They didn't let me go to kindy, but I started school after my fifth birthday. Dudley scared off anyone who even attempted to talk to me, and uncle would _punish _me if my grades were better than his son's. I didn't have much time to hold back at class, though. Two months after term started, Murphy's law reared its ugly head.

Most teachers at that school disliked me. Have you ever heard a kid complaining that the teachers are against him, after getting a bad grade? Well, I'm a living example that it _does_ happen, sometimes. I was that weird scrawny kid that nobody wanted to play with. My hair was like a bird's nest, but dirtier. My clothes were so big that they made me look even skinnier. And my eyes are "weird"; apparently, it gives people the creeps when I look at them. At least that's what all the residents at Privet Drive said.

So, you understand, I had to somehow get back at them. It hurt me, so I had to hurt them back. After my third week at school, I realised things would not change by themselves. The pranks began. They were horribly simple, and childish - but, hey, I was only five. A few of them were quite creative, if I do say so myself. I learned to control my magic a bit, and used it against those who treated me badly. I didn't know it was magic at the time, of course. But I digress.

Nobody had any proof that it was me, but all my teachers and class-mates suspected. It was like a very well-known secret. It did not help my friend-less situation, either. One day, however, they decided they had had enough. This is where my story begins.

"I swear I don't know what happened!!" 5-year-old me complained frantically "It couldn't be my fault! I was too far away from him to do it!"

And it was true. My teacher had been insulting my hand-me-down clothes and just about every aspect of my persona for several minutes when it happened. Suddenly, his wig turned blue, electric-blue. So, as usual it was my fault. _Everything_ was my fault. Even if there was evidence of my innocence, I was always at fault.

I had only just started school this year and was already facing expulsion. It annoyed me quite a bit that after so many perfect pranks, I had to get caught _and expelled_ for the one I didn't actually do. How unfair. Not that life had ever been fair to me, mind you. I was unloved, neglected, and quite often abused. After all, I was just a freak, a waste of space, undeserving of anything. Young me was well aware of this fact.

So here I was, trying my best to prove how strange this whole thing was. I knew it was no use, but I still had to try...

And delay the _punishment_ as much as I possibly could. Because I was a smart kid. I knew what was coming and I sure as hell didn't want that to happen. But nothing I said would change that. And I knew it.

Uncle Vernon's face was quickly changing from red to purple. He was getting to the part where he would start yelling and using my poor battered body as a punching bag.

But before Vernon could start his rant, Aunt Petunia whispered something in his ear. At first he looked confused, but slowly a cruel (and oddly distorted) grin appeared on his face.

I gulped, dreading whatever was to come. If it made my uncle smile like that, it couldn't be good for my health. Aunt Petunia left the room, and Vernon started approaching me menacingly. I forced himself not to flinch when the enormous man took a handful of hair and yanked me around. Crying would only make it worse.

The beating continued just as I thought it would. It was harsher than normal, but otherwise the same. Only difference was that this time, he beat me anywhere he could, not taking care of whether the bruises where visible or not. It was lasting longer too... But I tried to be brave, for my parents. Despite anything my aunt said, I knew there was a time when I had been loved. Whenever I slept after a beating, I would see their faces in my sleep. I didn't remember it very well, but I knew it was their voices in the back of my mind, telling me to be strong; it would be over soon.

When Uncle Vernon finally stopped, I was seeing black spots, everything was a blur. I didn't know where my glasses were, nor did I care at that moment. My nose was broken, as well as a few ribs. Carefully, I stood up.

Sprained wrist, dislocated shoulder, three cracked ribs, broken nose, swollen black eye, bruises... more bruises... I didn't realize just how injured I currently was, but you can bet I could definitely feel it. Never had I been in so much pain before. Dursley never hurt me so much, he didn't want someone to realize where the bruises came from, of course.

It was moments like this when I wondered what was so wrong with me. What had I done to deserve such a punishment? Uncle Vernon would never do something like this to Dudley. Why was I treated so differently? Things had always been like this. As far as I could remember, my cousin was given anything and everything he wanted, never scolded for doing something bad, no matter how big. I, however, had never received a single gift, not even a kind word; I was beaten for the tiniest mistakes, even for Dudley's mistakes and other things completely out of my control; I was also treated like a slave. It was just plainly cruel to have a 5-year-old washing the dishes when there was a perfectly functional dishwasher. As sad as it may sound, I had learned to accept all this.

But now was not the moment for self-pity. I could hear my aunt calling. When had she come back? Well, it didn't really matter. I better hurried before it was too late.

"Boy, come here," she said. I recognized the blurry figure of Aunt Petunia and walked towards it.

And then she started talking. I had long ago learned how to tune my relatives out when needed, without them noticing the lack of attention. It was a way to keep myself from being broken. Not in the literal sense, much deeper. This way I could detect any information needed, and remain unaffected to their insults.

I gave a start when the words: "My sister" where spat out. Aunt Petunia _never_ talked about my mother, her sister. Only thing I knew about her was that she died because of me. This made no sense, whatsoever. After all, hadn't they died in a car accident? How could it possibly be my fault? Maybe I would finally find out.

And I did. She seemed to be completely honest - and bitter - about it. She didn't leave anything out; and despite the many insults and clear disapproval, I found himself fascinated by it.

I was a wizard! And a good one at that. After all, I was fated to greatness, to be a hero. All of it made sense. My scar, the green light, all those weird things happening around me...

My excitement quickly faded away when Aunt Petunia said: "You're no longer welcomed here. Go clean yourself, you have 10 minutes, and get out. I don't care where you end up, just don't come back".

I gaped at her. 'Get out'? Where would I go? Where _could_ I go? I really doubted they would give me any money. And, hadn't she said something about bad guys wanting me dead? With this thoughts running trough my head, I went to my cupboard. I picked some clothes and entered the bathroom.

While I put on some of Dudley's old clothes, a crazy idea occurred to me. Maybe I could change my name, and no one would know it was me. Yeah. It sounded good to me. But, what could I name myself? It came to me really quick. _Alexander._ Like Alexander the Great! One of the few teachers who were neutral to me, instead of hating me - not the one with a blue wig, obviously - had told the class about that man. It just fitted.

Now I needed a last name. That would be more difficult. Maybe I could stay with 'Evans'? Nah. I needed a new one. The name 'Moony' came to my mind, but I quickly discarded that option. Where did it come from, anyway? Plenty of unusual words kept coming, but it was useless. Kids already laughed at me for my ungroomed appearance and broken glasses. It would surely be worse if I was called 'Alexander _Prongs'_! Or _Gryffindor._ That one sounded good, but not quite...

I suddenly smiled. _Black._ It was perfect! Black like my hair, and those funny shaped spots that wouldn't go away.

"Alexander Black," I whispered, liking the sound of it. No one would know it was me -

My smile fell as soon as that thought made it through my head. That stupid scar! Argh, how could I forget it? Anyone would recognize me just by looking at my forehead, if what Aunt Petunia said was true. I wished I looked different, without the strange scar, and with no need for glasses. I wouldn't look like myself, and no one would hurt me...

I blinked in shock when I saw my shoes. Like, _really_ saw them, not just a distorted blur. I could actually see them. But I didn't have much time to marvel at the unexpected miracle. The door banged open right then and Uncle Vernon came in.

* * *

Vernon Dursley was happy. He was finally getting rid of the freak. He smirked when he remembered the monthly payments he was getting to 'spend' on the boy. Ha! Yeah, right. That money was better off in his pocket. And now he would get it all for himself.

Those ten minutes were quickly passing and the freak hadn't come out. Maybe he needed a little remainder? He banged open the bathroom door and entered.

His eyes bulged out when he noticed the boy's face. It was totally different! Still bruised, and his nose still broken, but he no longer looked like he was supposed to. Vernon looked for his scar, but it wasn't there.

He could feel his fury at boiling point. That damned child was doing it again! Contaminating his house and neighborhood. And soon, he would contaminate the streets!

No... He couldn't allow that to happen. It was his duty as a citizen to eliminate this dangerous piece of dirt, this crime against nature.

He gave the freak a last loathing look. He had never noticed just how green those eyes were. They were big and bright, sparkling on a way only emeralds should. This angered Vernon even more. The boy was looking warily at him, so disrespectfully. How dare he glare at him?? As if they were equals!

That was it! With a resounding 'thud!' he knocked him out. He would make sure he never lived to insult anyone again. He took off his belt to strap the boy's wrists and ankles. He ripped the freak's shirt and used it to gag him and as a blindfold.

Vernon lifted him up with his left arm while opening the door with the right. A self-satisfied smirk was slowly appearing under his enormous moustache.

* * *

Rebecca Rodriguez was driving back to the orphanage where she worked. She didn't really like kids and she was hoping her husband, Eduardo, wouldn't want any. But she needed the money. It was a nasty surprise when Eduardo confessed losing his job... right after the wedding.

She was rudely pulled out of her bitter thoughts when the car bumped into something_. Oh, shit! Just the perfect way of ending the bloody day_. With a sigh, she opened the door. It was a really dark street and a really dark night, only the moon gave any light_. What a horrible Halloween_. She didn't particularly like the day's festivities, but this only made it worse.

She groaned out loud when she realized that, not only had she bumped into someone... the car had actually passed_ over _that someone. Rebecca looked at him. He was just a kid.

Before she could start swearing under her breath, she noticed the improvised handcuffs and blindfold. So she did what any normal person would: she gaped. Until reality struck.

She was reluctant of touching him. But he needed medical attention, so she put him on the backseat carefully and continued on her way to the orphanage.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Privet Drive, men wearing dark robes and white masks were slowly making their way towards number four...

* * *

Next day was chaos in the wizarding world, and with good reason. The Boy-Who-Lived was dead. He and his relatives were killed, and the entire block was burnt to ashes with Fiendfyre. The dark mark appeared on the sky right as midnight came.

Nothing remained standing.

And, as if it wasn't enough, it were ministry workers and a werewolf, responsible for it. Malfoy, Nott, Avery and Greyback were all Death Eaters. Malfoy and Nott, Fudge's advisers, respected members of the community; were caught, interrogated and deemed guilty. They received the dementor's kiss, but Avery and Greyback managed to escape.

Harry Potter was given a proper funeral, even though they never found his body. Nobody knew what really happened, they didn't know about me. That was the night that changed my life, maybe even more so than when my parents died. That night, Harry Potter and Alexander Black became two different people. It marked my destiny and changed the future that would've come true if I had remained at the Dursleys.

That night, a window of possibilities opened; and it was now too late to close it.


	2. Meeting Tabby

DISCLAIMER: Nope, not mine. (By the way, this scene will be very similar to sixth year, in the pensieve with eleven year old Riddle. But believe me, there is quite a difference.)

SUMMARY: Harry loses his memory after a nasty happening at the Dursley's. What will he happen if he grows up at an orphanage, with no knowledge of his real name, or fame? He doesn't look like he used to. He goes by the name Alexander Black...

WARNINGS: child abuse, DH spoilers, violence, mild swearing. I come from a very traditional family, so it will most likely contain corporal punishment in future chapters, but only occasionally, and not very graphic.

AN: This is the new version of Chapter 2. Tell me if you like it, also if you don't. Almost nothing was changed, I just corrected a few things and added a bit at the ending, to show that he is really more damaged than the people at the orphanage think.

* * *

Chapter 2: Meeting Tabby

* * *

Minerva McGonagall looked around and was relieved to see there were no muggles around, nobody saw her apparate. It would be quite a shock for most of her students to know that their stern professor was careless enough to apparate in a well illuminated muggle street.

Of course, this wasn't a common occurrence. It was the circumstances that caused this. Ever since she read on the list of students entering Hogwarts the name Alexander _Black, _she had been anxious to meet the boy. After all, he lived in a muggle orphanage, so he may not be related to _the _Sirius Black. It may just be a coincidence... but she needed to check it for herself.

Therefore, she offered herself to give him his letter, and tell him about the wizarding world, as with any other muggle-raised student.

She passed a set of iron gates, into a bare courtyard. Minerva stopped a second to look curiously at the rather grim building in front of her. There were a few steps leading to the front door.

She squared her shoulders and knocked. The door opened almost immediately. A short woman of lank brown hair and cold eyes asked in a voice as sharp as her nose, "Are you Professor McGonagall?" Minerva nodded. "Come."

She led Minerva into a small room that seemed to be her office. Mrs. Rodriguez motioned for her to sit and then sat herself behind the desk.

"I came here to discuss Alexander Black and arrangements for his future"

"Family?"

"I am a teacher," said Minerva. "I am here to offer Mr. Black a place in my school."

"And what school would that be?"

"Hogwarts. It is a boarding school in Scotland."

"And you're interested in _him_, why?"

It didn't escape Minerva's attention the tone she used when talking about 'him'. She answered her question rather carefully. "We believe he has qualities we are looking for."

"He's won a scholarship, hasn't he? That's what he must've been doing all this time!" Now _that_ truly managed to confuse Minerva. "What do you mean?"

"He's spent most of the summer doing _something_. He's either locked up in his room or sneaking off to god-knows-where."

"Yes, well, you're right," Minerva said, taking advantage of her assumptions. She could now only hope Mr. Black's grades weren't too abysmal, so that it was more credible.

She seemed to be lucky.

"Mm... Gotta admit he _is _quite smart," she said somewhat grudgingly. Minerva couldn't stop herself from wondering why would anyone dislike the boy so much.

"I was wondering whether you could tell me anything of Alexander Black's history? Was he born here at the orphanage?"

"No, he was five when he came here. It was me that brought him, actually" she admitted, apparently disgusted with herself. "Halloween night, really dark. I was driving back to the orphanage, when I bumped into something. A young boy, barely more than a toddler, handcuffed and blindfolded, gagged, even. He was all black and blue so I brought him here and called a doctor. Miraculously, he survived, woke up in less than a week," she snorted. "The doctor had said he would die. And even if he didn't, he would be in a coma for years or have mental paralysis."

Minerva just stared at her. She hadn't expected such a tragic story. But she was also surprised by something else. In her experiences with muggle doctors, their analysis were usually quite close. Even if it was just a burst of accidental magic, this was really big.

Mrs. Rodriguez continued her story, "He _did _have some lasting damage, though. Amnesia. It took him several days to remember his own name. And he doesn't even know if he ever had a second name. The psychologist thinks he was probably abused because of his nightmares. He dreams of some BIG person hitting him and he starts yelling things like 'I'm sorry!' or 'Won't do it again!'. But no Black ever came looking for him, nor any kind of family so he stayed in the orphanage and he's been here ever since."

"So he never remembered what really happened?"

"No, he doesn't even remember if that _person _is a man or woman."

They stayed silent for a while. It was truly horrible what had happened to that boy, and she had a feeling that Mrs. Rodriguez didn't sympathize at all.

"He's a strange boy," she said after a couple of minutes.

"Strange, in what way?"

Here she gave a sneer that would've made Severus jealous. "He does odd and surely _impossible_ things. There are rumours... Other kids have seen him making stuff _fly_. And then, you could consider it good luck or simple coincidence, but.. How is it that he _never_ gets sick? If he is hurt, he heals in less than a day. and it's been countless times that I have to dye my hair because _somehow_ he keeps turning it _blue_!"

She continued ranting like this for a while, talking about his lack of friends and impossibly high grades, how he never got caught at anything, how he always got into street fights and him sneaking off to _somewhere_.

Minerva was now itching to meet this boy. He must be really powerful if half a word of this was truth. Finally, Mrs. Rodriguez finished and led her towards Alexander's room. She didn't even knock, she just opened the door and closed it again after Minerva entered.

It was a small bare room with nothing in it except for an old wardrobe and an iron bedstead. A boy was sitting on top of the grey blankets, his legs stretched out in front of him, writing in a small leather book, maybe a diary. he obviously hadn't noticed her enter. She cleared her throat and almost gasped when he looked up.

He was his handsome father in miniature, tall for eleven years old, dark haired and pale. It was almost like having a younger Sirius Black looking back at her.

There were some differences, though. Instead of sapphire blue, his eyes were a bright forest green that woul've put Lily's eyes to shame. Or maybe they were actually Lily's, after all. It had been discovered at Harry Potter's funeral that Mark Evans was actually Mark _Black_, son of Marius Black who was disowned for being a squib. Lily had never told this to anyone except for James and their then neighbor Bathilda Bagshot, who let it slip during the burial.

His hair was also different, very messy. This left out any doubts of who the mother might be. Alexander was clearly the son of Sirius and Jade Black. His hair was just like James' had been, but much longer, almost reaching his shoulders.

Jade Potter, James little sister, had married Black and gotten pregnant at about the same time as Lily. She had been kidnapped and killed by Death Eaters some months before the boy was due to be born.

Minerva had always suspected that the death of his wife and unborn child was what turned Sirius to the Dark side. If he had known his son was alive...

She shook herself out of those thoughts. It would not do to dwell on meaning-less 'what if's.

"Good morning, Mr. Black" said Minerva, walking forwards and holding out her hand.

The boy looked at her curiously, then took it and they shook hands. He moved back his legs so as to make space for her to sit. She hesitated a bit before sitting in the other half of the bed.

"I am Professor McGonagall"

"'Professor'?" repeated Black. He looked excited. "Do you come from Eton? I thought I was too young to enter yet!"

"No, I don't come from Eton. I work at a school called Hogwarts. I have come to offer you a place at my school - your new school, if you would like to come."

"Hogwarts? I never entered for a scholarship there," he said.

"It isn't necessary. Hogwarts is a school for people with special abilities -"

"I'm not mad!!"

"I never said you were. Hogwarts is a school of magic."

He stayed silent for a while, staring at her intently.

"So... It's m-magic, what I can do?"

" 'What you can do' ?"

He nodded excitedly, " I can make things move without touching them. Animals obey me without training them. I can heal myself if I get hurt. I can make bad thing happen to bullies. I can make them hurt if I want to."

He took a deep breath and looked at his hands.

"I knew I was different," he whispered. "I always knew I was...special."

"It seems you were right," said Minerva, who was now watching Black, surprised. "You're a wizard."

Black lifted his head. There was a wild happiness upon his face. If anything, it made him look even more like his father's lost twin. There was a gleam on his eyes that told her Hogwarts professors would be getting many grey hairs in the near future.

"Where do I sign?", he asked excitedly.

Minerva chuckled at the question. "There's no need for it. I'll just inform the headmaster of your decision, if you agree to come-"

"Are you a wizard too?," he asked abruptly.

"No. I am a _witch_."

"Prove it!," he exclaimed. She looked amused at him and replied in a tone much more severe than her expression:

"Unless you want a detention before classes even start, you will address me as 'Professor' or 'Madam' at all times."

Black's face reddened slightly in embarrassment and he mumbled out a "Yes, Ma'am. Could you please show me?"

"Now, _that's _much better. However, I'm afraid it would be risky to do a practical demonstration in a muggle building, so it will have to wait until later."

"What is a muggle? Ma'am?"

"Non-magical person"

"Oh. Where do I buy my school things?"

"In Diagon Alley," said Minerva. "I have your list with me. I will help you find it all-"

"You're coming with me?," asked Black.

"Certainly."

"It's not necessary, I'm used to doing things on my own. How do I get there, professor?"

Minerva cocked up an eyebrow. "You seem to be confused, Mr. Black. That was no suggestion, but rather, a command."

He glared at her, but the pout made him look less menacing than a miffed puppy.

"I don't need you!"

"I will accompany you whether you like it or not! I won't let an eleven-year-old go by himself to an unknown place in London. You could get lost, or assaulted. It is dangerous and I won't risk it!"

For a second, there was some strange emotion in his eyes, happiness and... pain, longing even. It was the sort of expression one would show when thinking of something wonderful that would never come to happen.

As soon as it came, it was gone. He looked at her with a half-hearted scowl and growled out: "Aye, captain!"

Minerva could tell he was only faking his bad mood but let it pass.

"Are we going right now, ma'am?"

"Yes," she answered, drawing a leather money pouch from her pocket. "There is a fund at Hogwarts for those who require assistance to buy books and robes. You might have to buy some of it second-"

"I have money," he interrupted _(Again),_ moving towards the wardrobe to open it.

Minerva noted there were very few clothes in there. Black took a small cardboard box from the topmost shelf and sat down in the bed again. The box was making a lot of noise while he moved it, and once he took off the lid, she knew why.

It was filled completely with small coins and some of those papers muggles use as money. She goggled at it and asked, "Where did you get all of this?" She may not know the exact quantity, but she was sure it was a lot. How could such a young boy get all this? And an orphan at that!

Black shrugged, "Here and there. I wasn't planning on staying at the orphanage this year and I needed money to survive."

Minerva had to contain a grimace at the word 'survive' and looked at him doubtfully, "You didn't steal it, did you?"

He lifted his head with dignity and exclaimed, "Of course not!" looking at Minerva's mystified expression, he added: "I've been doing jobs around London for a couple of years now. Winning bets and doing magic _tricks _work too..."

Minerva sighed. It saddened her that this kid had had to grow up so soon, forced by the situation.

"I still think you should take the money, you might need it for later," he actually looked tempted but shook his head.

Minerva accepted this somewhat reluctantly. "If you're ready, we should leave now. I'll explain more about the wizarding world once we get there." Black just nodded.

* * *

"Curious, very curious" muttered Mr. Ollivander.

"I'm sorry, sir, but... What's so curious?"

"What? Oh! Er... Nothing. Just an unusual combination".

_Yeah, right_. I could almost see the word 'Liar' plasted on his face. _And a bad liar, too._ However, I ignored it. I didn't care.

After paying for it, I went outside to look for McGonagall, who went to another shop meanwhile. We had made a deal: she lets me do my shopping alone, and I let her come with me after I'm done. Everybody wins, huh?

Except for me. I still couldn't believe I was stupid enough to waste all my money! Wanna know how much I had left? One galleon, three sickles and a knut. That and 20 pounds that I fortunately stopped myself from changing. You could say it's not so bad, but you would be wrong. I still had six more years of school, after all. But I could always always accept that money from the school...

_"No. You certainly won't,"_ chided a voice over my shoulder. I truly hated charity and pity. Some people used to think they were better than me because they had parents to give them whatever they wanted. It made me feel so... vulnerable. It's like I needed to prove myself to the world, and let them all know that I could do it without any help. And I would.

McGonagall told me all about my family. _"A Black and a Potter, a pureblood, heir to two of the richest families in the wizarding world, cousin to the late Boy Who Lived and son of a mass murderer. Who would've thought?"_ I was so confused. All my life I had thought myself to be an orphan, hating my parents for abandoning me at the orphanage, thinking it was them disturbing my sleep with nightmares. But I realized then that it was never them, they hadn't been around by that time. _"Despite what he may have done to get stuck in jail, it wasn't us that he hurt, so who cares?"_

It was with great dismay that I heard her say I couldn't go to see him. I had to carefully mask my expression so that she wouldn't notice. I'm good at that, even with such an emotional day, only once did my mask slip. The Professor had made a comment about wanting to keep me safe.

Never had _anyone_ cared for me. Rodriguez would have happily sent me to St. Brutus next year if I hadn't been invited to Hogwarts. _"I'm starting to think she doesn't like us."_ (Heavy sarcasm here)

She (the Professor, not Rodriguez) also talked about Hogwart's four houses and Quidditch. I hoped I'd be in Gryffindor like my parents_._ And maybe, just maybe, I'd have a friend. Because there I wouldn't be a freak, there I would belong.

This was turning out to be an interesting birthday.

I smirked when I passed Gambol and Japes, the joke shop. There I bought several dungbombs, fireworks, stink pellets, hair dye and just about any pranking product I could afford.

I knew my priorities weren't in order. Instead of those, I should've bought some warmer clothes. _"Well done, Alex. We'll probably freeze over this Christmas, 'cause we don't have anything appropriate to wear."_

And I really shouldn't have bought so many books _and _on first-hand. Besides those required for the first years I also got: '1,003 Useful Charms for Every Day Situations' by Enchanto Dementio, 'Constant Vigilance' by Alastor Moody, 'Brewing Glory' by S. Prince, 'The ABC of Transfiguration' by A.P.W.B.D. and, of course, I just had to buy 'Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More)' by Professor Vindictus Viridian. If I hadn't spent so much in those books, I would've had enough money to buy better robes.

But it was the trunk that left my pockets empty. I bought one with a shrinking/engorgio charm placed on it and a secret compartment for all the things I _shouldn't _have. And now it would prove quite useful. I didn't want McGonagall to see any of this. _"Well, duh!"_

Finally done shopping, I went towards Florean Fortescue Ice Cream parlor. We had both agreed to meet there and it was a relief to simply sit there and relax. I wasn't in bad shape by any means, but this had been a really tiring day.

After a while, the professor came. She was carrying a large, sticky chocolate cake with 'Happy Birthday Alexander' written on it in green icing. "Well then, happy birthday!," she exclaimed, smiling expectantly at me.

I took it carefully, with trembling hands... and I stared. It was my birthday, yeah, but _never _had I received a present. Ever.

Suddenly, it all became too much. I was literally entering a new world. The day before, I was just Alex, the orphaned freak with no future and no money. Then, I became Alexander Sirius Black Potter. Once I turned 17, I would be the wealthiest guy in all England. And yet, that didn't seem to matter when compared to the fact that this old lady, a total stranger that I just met that morning... she cared. She would be sad if I happened to die that evening, and not because she wanted to do me in herself. She wasn't about to make a grab for the cake and run away with it, laughing at my stupidity.

I could feel the moisture in my eyes_. "No! You can't cry. You won't cry."_ With a valiant effort, I cleared my emotions and stoically thanked her, smiling. And I didn't have to fake it, this time_._

"I am glad you like it," she said, looking with scrutiny at me. _"Damn, she noticed."_

"Is there anything else you need to buy?," she asked while I cut the cake.

"Yeah, can I get a broom?"

"First years are not allowed, and I better not catch you smuggling one in!"

I already knew this, of course. And even if I had permission, I couldn't afford it.

_"So, why the heck do you ask?"_

Simple, it's always fun to annoy people.

She ignored my cheeky grin and continued talking (after I handed her a piece of the oh so delicious cake), "Now that that's finished... Perhaps you want to know a bit more about your family?"

_"Obviously"_

We talked about them for hours. It was easier to imagine them as real people when she told how they lived and not how they died (or ended up in prison).

My father and Uncle James were pranksters ("_like us"_) and quite the ladies' men ("_like us, again"_). My mother and Aunt Lily (uncle's wife and dad's cousin) were smart ("_like us"_) and pretty (_"We are handsome"_).

Now you probably think I'm a big-headed jerk. You're correct.

Mum and not-so-muggleborn Lily 'Evans' were best friends with some guy called Severus Snape, who just so happened to be dad's and uncle's enemy. "_Ironic isn't it?"_

The 'trio' wasn't really popular. Jade an Lily were often teased for hanging out with a 'slimy snake', while Severus was outright persecuted for befriending a 'mudblood' and a 'blood traitor'. _"Studious, smart and the best of friends, in conclusion."_

The 'marauders' were quite the opposite. This group was formed by James, dad, and two other guys that McGonagall didn't mention. I assumed they were dead and decided not to push it. _"Oh, but you should never assume things, you may regret it."_

I wondered what had happened with the rest of the Marauders and Severus. But, for the moment, that didn't matter.

* * *

Coming back to the orphanage was horrible. I could not bear to separate myself from the wonders of magic again. I did not want to stay there, in my tiny room, with only myself for company. I wanted, more than anything, to go back, to change things. I wanted to have a family, I wanted to have friends. I wanted to belong somewhere, _anywhere_. Voldemort ruined my life, now I knew. If it hadn't been for him, things would be so different.

"McGonagall said he wasn't completely gone," I whispered, knowing he could hear me, "and I shall be ready for when he returns. I will make him pay for what he has done."

The young boy stood up from where he was seated behind me at my bed, he got closer to me, too close, and muttered in my ear: _"If you are completely sure..."_

"I am," was my answer. I could almost hear him smiling as he said, _"Our parents would be proud."_

"How can you know that? What makes you think they would care? Nobody ever does. Not even you."

He gripped my hair tightly and made me turn around to face him, our noses almost touching; he looked furious.

_"I care,"_ he said. _"Somebody has to; and they would, too, if they were here. We will be great, Alex. Someday, people everywhere will know your name. We will be admired, and respected. This is just the beginning, it will be over before you know it. Everything you wish, all that you desire... I can help you get it. Nobody loves you more than I do, nobody cares as much as I. We will be happy, that is my promise. Step by step, we will get friends, and then family. You need not worry, that's MY job." _His green eyes, identical to my own, shined with emotion as he talked. I believed him, he never lied, but there was something still bothering me. He said I would be admired and respected... but that wasn't all I wanted.

"And, will people love me then?" I couldn't help but ask.

_"We can only hope."_

* * *

AN: I hope that wasn't too disturbing. Go ahead and review - or flame, if you think it was that bad. I want to know what you think of the changes.


	3. Not Alone

DISCLAIMER: Nope, not mine. (Also, several things are taken directly from the book, but I'll try not to do it so often).

SUMMARY: Harry loses his memory after a nasty happening at the Dursley's. What will he happen if he grows up at an orphanage, with no knowledge of his real name, or fame? He doesn't look like he used to. He goes by the name Alexander Black...

WARNINGS: child abuse, DH spoilers, violence, mild swearing. I come from a very traditional family, so it will most likely contain corporal punishment in future chapters, but only occasionally, and not very graphic.

AN: This is the new version of Chapter 3. Tell me if you like it, also if you don't.

* * *

Chapter 3: Not Alone

* * *

Life at Wool's Orphanage was dull. To be truthful, I hated that place more than anything, all of it: the building, the children, the teachers, all the employees, and above everything, Rodriguez. This, to me, was hell in its most absolute and definite form. Five years and nine months. And now, finally, I was being released to where I was meant to be. I wasn't planning on ever coming back. Not this Christmas, not even next summer. Actually, the only possible explanation I can think of that would justify my returning to this godforsaken place... mmm... there isn't one. After all, I am way above the common terrorist. I would never actually plant a bomb here, honestly. _"Oh, well, that's too bad... Yes, I can now picture it... Rodriguez looking at us in shock as we set off a masive explotion. And then... BOOM!! Buh bye, Rodriguez"_ I ignored Harry's murderous musings.

Sometimes he scared me a bit. But really, he was always there for me, and I could tolerate his dark thoughts as long as he didn't leave me.

I smiled hesitatingly at the pink envelopes in front of me. Same girls as last Christmas, I guess. Isn't it ironic that, right when things seem to improve for me in that godforsaken place, I finally get the chance to escape? Don't get me wrong, I would not regret leaving, not in the least. After all, these so-called "admirers" probably treated me like shit at some point of my life. Not nice. I hope they bitterly regret it when I'm gone. _"Ha. Yeah, right. Keep dreaming, mate."_

Sighing at the truth in those words, I looked back down to my magical creatures book, which I had already read twice. I had never been one to read school textbooks out of pleasure, but now... Well, it was a completely different situation, of course. All of it was so _new_, so _fascinating_. I summerged myself in those books, I even missed a few meals. I started with my coursebooks and proceeded with the extra ones. After reading every single one of them, I started rereading my favorites. Eventually, though, I had to get off my arse and face the reality: I needed money.

What I had told McGonagall was true. I am not a thief; I don't take things that don't belong to me. Instead, I fight for them. Literally. You see... I had joined an illegal, underground fighting club almost a year before. I had to say my age was 13 (now 14) so that they would let me enter - I have always been a bit tall for my age.

I normally go there at least three times a week and get paid depending on how long I can last (plus any bets I make on myself). That's how I discovered my uncanny ability to heal myself. Not consciously, of course, but I never remain injured for long. However, when things get really rough, I am forced to give myself a break, lest people start getting suspicious. During these times, I go back to my old job as a magician. Nobody really knows the secret behind my magic tricks, for the simple reason that there isn't one; they are real.

And so, with only two weeks left before I could leave, I went down to the club. I think I might have overdone it, though. Ten nights in a row... I thought I would die, but it was necessary if I wanted to have the last 4 days free - it would not do to arrive at Hogwarts looking like a bloody mess. Also, I wanted to be able to enjoy the annual trip to the zoo. When Rodriguez asked me when I'd be leaving, I lied and said term started on the 31st of August. I rarely ever lie, but this was well worth it.

Just as I suspected, she immediately planned the trip to be on September 1st_. _She knows I like animals a lot and would hate to miss that. She was right, but fortunately, the zoo is very close to King's Cross and I would have two hours to enjoy myself before escaping at 10:30 to take the train. It was a perfect plan and I had to be patient for it to work. I continued re-reading my books whenever I got too bored (usually during the evenings, before going to the club). Newt Scamander's book was by far my favorite of all the school-asigned books; the rest of them were a bit dull after the first read. From the extra ones, I really can't decide which one is better.

'Constant Vigilance' included many defensive charms and safety tips, as well as some spells to identify poisons and curses in anything you eat or touch_. "Perfect for someone as paranoid as us, huh?". _The other books were very useful too. I could already cast many of the charms and spells in the books without even a wand, but I tired less easily if I used it. Potions looked a lot like Chemistry to me, and 'Brewing Glory' was written in a very clear (if slightly sarcastic) way_. "That class will be quite enjoyable, I think"_.

I put the books away and prepared myself for another day at the orphanage. _Another day, another fight. _I smiled ruefully at that thought. It wasn't as if I didn't enjoy it. I had grown to love getting into fights. It was exhilarating. Modest little me had gotten into a few fights by then, mostly with older boys than me.

That day (the day before the trip), I received quite a beating for my saving-people thing. "_Again," _Harry grumbled. But this time it was different. Instead of giving me a wary glance and running away, this boy _thanked_ me.

I was returning to the orphanage that night, after a long day of entertaining idiots at the park, when I heard the boy crying. He wasn't much younger than me, but he didn't have that hardened look about him, that I most certainly did. He was cornered by two 16-years-olds, from a gang, most likely. I distracted them and helped the boy - "_Colin, wasn't it?" _- escape. But they caught me and beat me up in front of Colin, whom I had hidden behind some trash cans.

I wasn't very worried about my injuries because I knew they would all but disappear in a few hours, but the kid looked really scared so I comforted him as good as I could. 'Ok, kid, you're safe now. Hush, calm down.' He called me a hero and looked at me in awe. That surprised me a lot. It felt so good to know that someone appreciated my good actions. Smiling, I told him my name was Alex and sent him to go and look for his parents, before he could see how much his words affected me. That night, I fell asleep with a smile on mi lips.

* * *

September 1st.

Albus Dumbledore sat in his chambers, brooding. He had been doing this quite often as of late, and the rest of the staff was starting to worry. He wasn't his usual cheery self. But he had a reason for it, one that actually made sense. He was afraid.

The month before, his old friend, Ollivander, informed him that Voldemort's sister wand had been sold. To Alexander _Black_, no less.

The boy's appearance had been a total surprise for them all. Severus looked like he would faint. _That was amusing, indeed. _And Albus wasn't an exception to this. When he was told about the wands, he asked Minerva to show him the memory of the Diagon Alley visit. She reluctantly agreed, and Albus was still in shock over the memories Alexander had brought up.

Albus immediately recognized the building as the same he had visited over fifty years before. And it was unnerving how many similarities there were between Alexander Black and Tom Riddle. They both had a control over magic that most people didn't achieve until they entered Hogwarts; and without even a wand. Both were muggle-raised_. In the same orphanage_. They even looked similar.

But he was quite sure Alexander could turn out to be a good lad. _What his father did is not his fault. _He was just lonely. And Albus refused to commit the same crime twice. Instead of being so cold towards Tom, he should have helped him. After all, how can you love, when nobody ever loved you? So many mistakes, so many wrong turns that, if corrected, would have led to a better future... And now he had a chance to do things right, something that thrilled him as much as it scared him. What if he failed? What if another young soul turned dark because of him? Another boy becoming a monster... _No! That won't happen this time. _

It was too late for Tom, but not for Alexander.

* * *

Brazil? Sounds great. Do you miss-? Oh, forget it. You were born here, weren't you?

So what if I was having a conversation with a Brazilian Constrictor? I like snakes. They always have something interesting to say - _as weird as that sounds _- and they seem to like me.

I only had 10 minutes left. I would need a distraction if I wanted to slip out. The snake wanted to go to Brazil. "_Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?"_

Scrunching up my forehead, I concentrated on making the glass disappear. It was harder because there wasn't anybody around to make me angry. "_But it is best not to leave witnesses, heh heh."_ With a loud 'pop', it vanished.

Thankss, amigo

Wow. First, the professor treats me like a human being; then, Collin calls me a hero; now, I am it's 'amigo'? I shook my head out of those thoughts and continued to the exit.

My trunk, with all my belongings inside, was already shrunken in my bag. It was mostly empty (my bag), except for a few other things I kept outside the trunk, just in case_._ My wand, some money... and my faithful dagger.

I was almost out when I felt eyes on me. If it had been anyone from the orphanage, they would've done something already, so I stopped to look around. Diamond blue met emerald green. It was one of the animals, a red wolf. He couldn't be more than a couple weeks old. There wasn't any other wolf with him. He was alone_. "Like us."_ Although I didn't want to admit it, I knew he was right. The little guy reminded me a bit of a younger me. Bright eyes, dark hair, so lonely...

I read the sign beside him and frowned. If I was correct - and I usually am- this cub had been pulled out of the den, away from his family. That was wrong on so many levels. Wolves lived in packs, and you couldn't just take one away to put him on exhibition! Especially one so young (sixteen days old).

The little guy gave me a pitiful gaze, besting even my most adorable puppy eyes. "_That's quite an achievement."_ I knew the battle was lost before it even started.

Looking around, I got closer to the glass. This time, I made it vanish faster because of how anxious I felt. I needed to hurry. The cub crawled to me, into my arms, and I carefully shifted him to a more comfortable position. I was afraid to put the cub in the bag_. Damn dagger_. So instead, I hurried to get the hell outta there, before anyone could catch me red-handed.

It wasn't a long trip to King's cross. Many women and young kids trailed after me, cooing at the cute little _dogie_, but I managed to loose them after a while. I arrived at 10:45, when I realized I didn't know where the platform was.

McGonagall had mentioned it, I was certain. "_But what was it?"_ I hadn't paid much attention to those meaning-less details. The word 'barrier' kept coming up in my mind, but what did that have to do with anything?

I was starting to get desperate, when I saw a really pretty red-head looking at me. I smiled at her and she blushed. Another red-head _("her brother, most likely")_ noticed this and turned around. The boy was pushing a trolley with a trunk, very much like my own. Actually, there was a whole bunch of red-heads with one of those. How could I not notice six red-heads so close together? And how could I not notice the owl that the oldest brother was carrying?

_"Damn. When did you get so slow?"_

Immensely relieved, I followed them.

They showed me the way through the very solid-looking barrier, and then the pair of twins, impressed by my outright disobedience of the rules regarding pets, promised to teach me how to get food from the kitchens for the little cub.

I now sat at an empty compartment, with Harry between my trunk (now back to its original size) and I, his annoying comments filling in the silence. Sighing, I ignored him and looked down at the sleeping puppy in my lap. It was cuddling with me, and I couldn't help but smile. I didn't regret taking him with me. Not at all.

With envy, I watched through the window all those happy families biding goodbye to each other. I could watch that red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. _"Talk about being a stalker..."_

"Where's Percy?" said their mother.

"He's coming now."

The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes and I noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it. He looked like a pompous git to me.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the Prefects have got two compartments to themselves-"

_"What's a prefect?"_

"Oh, are you a Prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once-"

"Or twice-"

"A minute-"

"All summer-"

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. I chuckled. Those guys were so cool.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.

"Because he's a Prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there."

She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.

"Now you two - this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've- you've blown up a toilet or-"

Inside my compartment, I smirked. That sounded like a really good idea.

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mum."

_"Maybe they'll let us help them."_

"It's not funny. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," said the youngest boy. He was almost as tall as the twins and looked about my age.

A whistle sounded.

"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered on to the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them goodbye and their youngest sister, that pretty girl, began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

"George!"

"Only joking, Mum."

The train began to move. I saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed; then she fell back and waved.

I could feel my stomach give a twist.

"This is it. I'm finally going to Hogwarts."

"_Brighten up!"_ Harry said. _"We're gonna have so much fun in there; I just can't wait!"_

I didn't know if things would be better for me; but they couldn't possibly be worse. _"That's right!"_

The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest Weasley boy, Ron, came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

I shook my head and he sat down.

"Hi, I'm Ron Weasley," he said an held out his hand. I shook it with an out-going smile and said:

"Alexander Black, but just call me Alex."

Ron noticed the furry thing laying over me and opened his mouth to say something, but the door opened again and the twins came in.

"Hey, Ron."

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train," started one twin reassuringly.

"Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." the other one finished, grinning.

"Right," mumbled Ron, looking somewhat upset.

"Alex," said the first twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.

"What's that?," Ron pointed at the little puppy.

"It's a wolf cub. I know they aren't allowed, but I couldn't just leave him alone," _I know how that feels._

"Wow, how did you get it?"

I started telling him about the trip to the zoo, but one thing led the other so I told him much about my life at the orphanage and what I had heard from McGonagall about my parents, as well as my amnesia.

"So you can't remember a thing? That's must really suck."

"Well, I do remember things once in a while, mostly from dreams. I know when my birthday is, as well as my name. When I first woke up, I didn't know who I was, or my age but I did know the basic things like reading and talking and counting. But it wasn't that bad. Actually... I'm kinda glad I can't remember those five years."

"Why's that?," Ron asked, looking mystified.

I looked at him, unsure. I had only just met him, after all. Deciding to give it a chance, I confessed, "From what I can remember of my past, I can say it wasn't nice. That, and the condition I was in when I woke up. Someone beat me pretty badly, tied me up, and dumped me in the middle of the street to die. Also, I have plenty of nightmares where I'm being hit. So yeah, I'm curious; but I'd prefer not to find out."

Ron seemed to ponder this for a moment, and when he looked up, I was thankful to find sympathy and not pity. "I'd would feel the same way if I was you, I guess."

"_Looks like a good time to change subjects..."_

"What about you? Are all your family wizards?" I asked, finding Ron just as interesting as Ron found me.

"Er - yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already. I hate living in the orphanage, it's full of muggles there, and they're horrible - well, not all of them. Most people I've met are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five," said Ron.

For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand and Percy's old rat."

"Mmmh... I never thought of it that way. But you could always try and beat them at it."

"What d'ya mean?"

"Head Boy, Captain, Prefect, prankster. You could become all of those. If 'prefect' and 'headboy' are what I think, then all you need is get good grades and not get caught when you're pulling a prank. And if you're good at Quidditch then that's no problem"

Ron snorted. "You make it sound so easy."

I shrugged. "It is. Yeh've got seven years to do it, after all."

That left Ron thinking and finally, he agreed.

"But I don't wanna be a Prefect, that's too Percy-ish"

We both started laughing, when the compartment door slid open again. A boy dragging a trunk entered and looked at us sheepishly. "Hello. Do you mind if I stay here? My git of a brother and his thugs won't leave me alone."

"I'm ok with it"

"Yeah"

I moved over to make him some space to sit, practically crushing Harry against my trunk.

"Thanks," he said gratefully. "My name's Reg Malfoy, nice to meet you."

"A pleasure. I'm Ron Weasley," my first ever friend answered, though he looked wary of him for some reason.

"And I'm Alex Black. Who's this brother you were talking about?"

He made a face, and I realized he looked a bit like myself, but with hazel eyes and curly gold hair. He wasn't as pale, either.

"Draco, my twin. He's an idiot and mummy's boy, too."

Ron snorted. "No offense but... who would name their kid 'Draco'?"

He grinned back. "My parents, apparently. It really is a stupid name, isn't it? But I was named after a Death Eater, so I can't talk."

"A Death Eater?" McGonagall had told me about them, the evil servants of the even eviler Lord Voldemort (or he-who-must-not-be-named). _My dead cousin defeated him when he was a baby. Ron really shouldn't complain about having someone to live up to._

"Yeah, my mum's cousin, Regulus. Worst thing is, my whole family is like that. I can't wait to get rid of them. I'll probably be the first Malfoy to not be in Slytherin." This seemed to make Ron relax a little. Maybe he knew about Reg's family, and thought he was like them.

There was a knock on the door of our compartment and the round-faced boy I had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When we shook our heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," said Regulus.

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..."

"Wait!" I said, taking out my wand and carefully placing the cub on my seat after I stood up. "Why don't you try and conjure it"

Three confused pairs of eyes looked back at me. I ignored them "Accio toad!"

A few seconds later, something flew through the door and I caught it expertly.

"Trevor!" cried the boy blissfully, holding out his hands. "Thank you! How did you do that?"

"I read it in a book. I'm Alex Black, by the way"

"Oh," he blushed. "I'm Neville Longbottom"

"Hi, Neville. I'm Regulus Malfoy."

"Ronald Weasley. Want to join us?"

Neville looked very surprised. "Are you sure?"

Reg nodded with a grin and I exclaimed "The more the merrier, innit?"

He smiled shyly and sat besides Ron.

"Isn't that a wolf?" Neville asked when I put it back on my lap. We all looked surprised at him. Reg hadn't even noticed it until then. "What's his name?"

It was my turn to blush. I had forgotten he didn't have a name. "I don't know, I just got him. What do you guys think I should name him?"

After a round of stupid names, each more outrageous than the last, we decided to name him Copper. It may not have been original, but it was still much better than Snowy.

_"He's not even white, for heaven's sake!!"_

"How did you know it was a wolf," I finally asked. Most people would've assumed it was a dog. If I wasn't that obsessed with animals, I probably would, too.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was a Muggle for ages, and I wasn't allowed to fly or anything of the sort, so I spent loads of time reading about different plants and animals instead."

"They thought you were a muggle?"

"Yes... My great-uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me - he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned - but nothing happened until I was eight. Great-uncle Algie came round for tea and was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my great-auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced - all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased. Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here - they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great-uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

I had to stop myself from frowning; to my right, Harry looked scarily angry. Muggle or not, they could've hurt him a lot. No wonder he was so shy. Neville probably still thought of himself as an almost-muggle.

Regulus spoke up and calmed Neville by explaining how all wizards were born like that and couldn't go from being a muggle to suddenly gaining magic. If he hadn't shown any magic before that, it was because he felt pressured, not because he didn't have it. He and Ron looked as upset with Neville's family as I felt, but we didn't say anything else about it.

Before going on to some lighter topics like our hobbies and the like, we continued talking about our life-stories. Reg's dad had been executed for killing the Boy Who Lived, and his mother disliked him as much as he disliked her. Ron's brother, Bill, worked for the wizarding bank (Gringots) in Egypt as a 'curse breaker'; Charlie was a dragon tamer in Rumania; and his father worked at the Ministry of Magic. Neville didn't say much more about his family. _Good, 'cause I ain't keeping quiet no more!_ And I told them what I had already told Ron before, but with some more details.

While we had been talking, the train had carried us out of London. Now we were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep.

We were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Regulus was reading some book, Neville was petting Copper, and Ron was just staring out the window.

"You don't like spiders, do you?," I asked him curiously, trying to guess the reason for his earlier reaction.

He shuddered and shook his head. "I hate them, and the twins know it. They're the reason I don't like them"

"Why? What did they do?"

"Well, it happened when I was three," he bit his lip and hesitated slightly before he continued. "Fred turned my - my teddy bear into a dirty great spider because I broke his toy broomstick. You wouldn't like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and ..." He broke off, shuddering.

He looked at us warily, as if expecting us to laugh. None of us did. He had just told us about his greatest fear; we weren't about to mock him.

"Don't worry, we're all afraid of something. I don't like cockroaches; and I think I'm afraid of myself, turning out like my family wants. With such a reputation... Well, I'm just glad I met you guys, at least I'm not alone," said Regulus.

"And I - I'm afraid of heights and - I know it's stupid, but - of water, too. Swimming and all that. And not being good enough. My parents were good at everything and became aurors, and the family expects me to follow on their footsteps."

"Don't mind them," I said. "It's your life, and I'm sure your parents would be proud of you, no matter what. As for the heights and water... being pushed off a pier and dropped out the window would do that to you," I wince sympathetically at him. "I'm not sure what I'm afraid of, but I can relate with the 'not being good enough' part, that and -" I stopped.

_Should I say it?_

_"Yeah! They'll understand."_

_No... They'll think I'm pathetic._

_"Just go ahead and do it. They are waiting."_

Realizing I had indeed blanked out, I told them about my fear. I confessed to being friend-less for as long as I could remember, and the panic I felt whenever I thought of dieing with no one there to miss me.

I was quite amazed that I had told them so much (I had never shared any of this with anyone), but I was even more surprised when Ron said: "You can forget it then, 'cause now you have three brand new friends and you won't get rid of me any time soon."

"Same here," Neville said, firmly.

"I'm sorry, Alex, but you're stuck with us," Reg smirked.

I couldn't do anything but smile from ear to ear. "_I told you so!"_

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back our door and said, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

I looked at the now awake Copper and decided to buy him some milk, and maybe a Mars Bar for myself. Regulus leaped to his feet and went out into the corridor. Ron's ears went pink and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches.

I went out and bought some milk, but the woman didn't have any Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron cakes, Liquorice wands and a number of other strange things I had never seen in my life. It was a difficult decision, but I needed some chocolate, so I chose the frog.

Regulus got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. We stared as he brought it all back into the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?"

He shrugged, "I didn't want to miss anything. Mother never lets me eat any sweets, those are for Draco."

Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches in there. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

"Gran didn't give me anything, 'cause she doesn't want me to get fatter."

This time I did frown. "You are not fat. That's stupid."

"I agree," Regulus said. "Come on, guys, take a pasty. I can't possibly eat this all by myself."

And so, we all sat there, eating our way through Reg's pasties and cakes. He didn't seem to mind, either.

"What is this?" I asked Ron, holding up my unwrapped Chocolate Frog. "Not a real frog, I hope."

"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is, I'm missing Agrippa."

"What?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know - Chocolate frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect - Famous Witches and Wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

I unwrapped my Chocolate frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long crooked nose and flowing silver hair, beard and moustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. I turned over my card and read:

'Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.'

I turned the card back over and saw, to my astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.

"He's gone!"

"Well you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron.

"But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."

"Do they?"

"What, they don't move at all?"

"Weird!"

I stared as Dumbledore sidled back in the picture on my card and gave me a small smile. I finally tore my eyes from the Headmaster to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans.

"You want to be careful with those," Neville warned me. "When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour - you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and grape, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe."

"George reckons he had a bogey-flavoured one once."

Reg picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully and bit into a corner. "Bleaaargh- Sprouts."

We had a good time eating the Every-Flavor Beans. I got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Neville wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.

The countryside now flying past the window was looking wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills.

"Does any of you know what house you'll be in?" I asked.

"My whole family's been in Gryffindor. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

"That's the house Vol- I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"

"Yeah," said Reg. He flopped back into his seat looking depressed. "As well as my family."

"My parents were in Gryffindor, but I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff."

"I'm hoping for Gryffindor too," I added.

Gloom seemed to be settling on them, so I did the most logical thing.

"Bet you can't do this!"

I grabbed a handful of beans and shoved them all into my mouth. It did the trick. They couldn't stop laughing at the strange faces I was making, because of the weird combination of flavors. Soon, we were taking turns to do the same thing, and we could hardly breath through all the laughter. When we finished the beans, we were still red in the face and panting.

"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked, now in a good mood.

"The Tornados," Reg said.

"Er- I don't know any," Neville said.

"Me neither, McGonagall only told me the basics"

"What!" Ron looked dumfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world -" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, with Reg joining in once in a while. He described famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he'd had the money.

He was just taking us through the finer point of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again. Three boys entered and I knew who they were at once.

The boy in the middle had grey eyes and platinum blond hair. The resemblance between him and Reg was clear, but they weren't identical. The other two were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing either side of the pale boy they looked like bodyguards.

"So you were hiding here, weren't you?" he sneered and looked at Ron. "Red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford. A Weasley."

Regulus stood up. "Leave him out of this, Dracykinns!" *like Daisy, but with an 'r', plus 'kinns'*

Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. "I'd be careful if I were you. Hang around with riff-raff like them and it'll rub off on you."

This time, all four of us stood up. Even shy little Neville.

Ron's face was as red as his hair. "Say that again," he said.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" sneered Draco.

"Unless you get out now," I said.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."

_That's it!_

_"You show him, Alex!"_

I took a step forward and punched him on the nose. And then hell broke loose. Mere minutes later, we had all become a tangle of arms and legs. Nobody noticed when I trailed away and took a couple of those water-start Filibuster things from my open trunk. It was all very quick, I guess. Draco never realized I had put them in his robe pockets_. Yeah, I'm truly sneaky_.

He left our compartment with a broken nose and a bruised ego. Not to mention those whining brutes. They had seemed so big and rough at first_. Ha, cry babies_!

Copper had woken up and was crawling at our feet, indifferent to the fight that had just occurred. Scabbers (Ron's pet rat) was sleeping among piles of candy, as aware as Copper. Neither of them were hurt, but we were a different story.

Ron had a black eye and a split lip. Neville was bruised all over and had just lost his last milk tooth. Reg was bleeding from the side of his head and had been hit on the stomach. And I - well... you could say I got the worst of it.

I did take on all three of them by myself before my friends (_it does sound nice, doesn't it?_) came to help me. And I was distracted by my brilliant plan. I had a black eye as well, and had a really nasty bruise on my jaw. My nose was bleeding, but thankfully not broken. And my left hand knuckles had cracked. _Damn that thick-headed gorilla._

"So..." Regulus said, straightening his robe and uniform. "What did you put in his pocket?"

I looked at him, surprised. He just lifted an eyebrow. I told them about my plan and we all shared an evil grin. Right that second, Fred and George had come back in. We must have looked pretty scary then. Specially Neville and his missing front tooth.

"What's been going on?" One of them said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and our ragged looks.

"You haven't been fighting, have you?" The other asked, as if too amazed to believe it.

"Oh Ronnie!"

"We're so proud of you!"

"But aren't you going to present us to your newest friends??"

"Forget that, George! I wanna know who beat the ickle firsties up"

_Seems like I'll finally be able to tell who's who_. They hadn't told me before who was Fred and who was George. I noticed Fred had more freckles on his nose and smirked.

"He is Neville Longbottom and that's Regulus Malfoy. It's his evil twin that we went against."

"A single firstie did this to you?" George asked incredulous.

"Of course not!" Regulus exclaimed. "He came with his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. And I'll let you know, they ended up much worse than us."

"Yeah, and those blokes were bigger than you are," I added.

They both seemed very impressed (and slightly amused at my bragging comment).

"Wow. Glad to see you won't follow the Percy Path of the Perfect Prefect"

We all chuckled, as Ron had told us _a lot_ about Percy.

"Anyway, we came here to ask if you want us to take the cub -"

"- to our dorms, and feed him there. Someone will see it if we take him to the Great Hall -"

"- and you can't just carry him during the Sorting. He could -"

"- sleep with us tonight and we'll give him back tomorrow."

"If you're not in Gryffindor, that is."

"If you are, then you can take him as soon as dinner's over."

"What's his name, by the way?"

I just looked at them. _It would be so cool if I could do that_...

"Copper," I said.

"Nice," they both said at the same time. "So are you okay with it?"

"Yes, thank you. But... wouldn't you miss dinner if you do that?"

"Nah, don't worry."

"We'll be back before you put a foot inside the castle."

"Aha, but we need to take him now."

"The train hasn't stopped," I pointed out.

"It will, in a few minutes."

And with that, they took Copper and left.

I peered out of the window. It was getting dark. I could see mountains and forests under a deep-purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. We took off our jackets and pulled on our long black robes (except for Regulus, who already had them on). Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his trainers underneath them.

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

My stomach lurched with nerves. We crammed our pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. I shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and I heard a strangely familiar voice: "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!"

It belonged to an enormous man; twice as tall as a regular grown up, and three times as wide. His big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "C'mon, follow me - any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, we followed him down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of us that I thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," He called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh"

The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" the man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.

We grinned excitedly at each other._ Surely, we aren't that lucky!_ Our original plan had been to use the 'aguamenti' charm on Draco, right after the Sorting... but this was so much better. We would manage to pull the first prank of our Hogwarts carrier before we even got sorted into a house!

Draco, Crabbe and Goyle took a boat with some dark skinned boy that looked like a total prat to us. We got into the boat to their left.

"Everyone in?" shouted the giant man, who had a boat to himself, "Right then - FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. To an unspoken signal, the four of us clenched the side of Draco's boat and pulled up. A loud 'splash!' broke the silence. That and the four loud yelps before it. And the loud explosions after it. _Yeah, I'd say it was LOUD!_

Sparks were soaring through the sky and it looked quite beautiful. I would later compare it to Disney and the night's fireworks at Cinderella's castle, but this was so much better.

The big guy stopped the boats from moving (except for his own) and floated toward us. The shower of sparks had ended and a new round of yelps could be heard as four pink tentacles came out of the water and pulled the freezing boys into the boat.

The man frowned at us. It must have been obvious, with Draco glaring daggers at us and our hands wet, still posed on the boat's edge. "Perfessor McGon'gall shall deal with you lil' runts."

And with that, the boats continued their trek.

I gulped, staring up at the castle overhead. It towered over us as we sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. Nearer and nearer to McGonagall too.

"Heads down!" yelled the man as the first boats reached the cliff; we all bent our heads and the little boats carried us through a curtain of ivy which had a wide opening in the cliff face. We were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking us right underneath the castle, until we reached a kind of underground harbor, where we clambered out on to rocks and pebbles. Mr. Huge (as I had temporally named him) kindly offered his enormous coat to the shivering prats, but they merely sneered at him in disgust. Huge pretended not to notice.

"Oi, you there! Not goin' ter hide, will you?" said Mr. Huge, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

We had tried (_unsuccessfully_) to blend in with the other kids, but Huge noticed it. He brought us to the front and clamped his hands on our shoulders. His hands were so big that he could grab two of us in each. And that was how we clambered up a passageway in the rock after Huge's lamp, coming out at last on to smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. We walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? Yes?" Huge raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face, a face that I could easily recognize.

_"She ain't looking pleased,"_ Harry noted.

I watched as 'Hagrid' (that's how she called him) explained the situation to her. He told her all about our innocent prank and that we must have gotten into a fight, if our beaten faces were anything to go by.

Her lips were getting thinner and thinner, until they almost completely disappeared. She was glaring at all four of us, but she seemed to be even angrier at me, for some reason. I bit my lip.

My 'brilliant' idea didn't seem so great any more.

* * *

AN: There! Now I only have to rewrite Chapter 4 before going on to a new chapter. Reviews and flames are welcome


	4. Hogwarts at Last

DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter isn't my property. The cute blond with hazel eyes is, though :)

A/N: Guess what?!! I managed to pass all my partials after posting last chapter. And I didn't even study! I feel so proud, really. I'm quite relieved that I won't have to see any of my professors during the holidays. Yay!! (This was the old A/N, but I decided to keep it, 'cause I still feel proud for doing well on my exams when my studious friends couldn't. Ha.)

By the way, I think I should put all of the warnings for this story (some might not apply until later chapters):

-Child abuse (first chapter) and mentions of it, or flashbacks including it

-Corporal punishment (not a focus to the story, or anything, it will mainly just be mentioned after the four friends do something like, I dunno, spiking the firsties' eggnog with firewhiskey, or something like that.)

-Spoilers for all seven of the books. And possibly also facts that came out during interviews with Rowling.

-OOCness (this is an AU, so they have different stories and reactions)

-OCs: Jade Potter, Regulus Malfoy and the occasional minor character

-Swearing and violence

-Sexual innuendo in the not-so-near future (they're eleven right now; wait a bit!)

Eh... that's about it. If you don't agree with these, just don't read the story.

I'm not sure if I had already answered this, but here it goes: **Alex will eventually find out he's a Potter.** I still haven't decided between the three possible dates for him to find out. **But it won't come for a while.**

I recommend you put extra attention to the sorting 'cause I changed several things (I wrote it complete, with all the students).

Also I'd like to apologize to those that want me to update faster. I already have a plot and know where I'm going with this, but I need to get in the right mood, or it turns out really crappy. Thanks for the reviews!!!! It really means a lot to me.

OK, that was a looong AN, better get on with it.

* * *

_Thoughts/emphasis_

_Emphasized thought_

Parseltongue

_"Harry's speech. Only Alex can hear it."_

'Written things/quoting/tittles'

"Talking"

Narrator

* * *

Chapter 4: Hogwarts at Last

* * *

Minerva scowled at the four students, with a look that would later be classified as the 'You-are-in-serious-trouble glare, level 4' by said children.

She simply couldn't believe it. They hadn't even entered the castle yet, for heaven's sake! Alexander Black was one of them, and he seemed to be in the worst condition. The other three said their names were Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Regulus Malfoy. They would become a real pain, she was sure.

The brother of the Terror Twins, the son of nice-but-clumsy Alice, a most likely obnoxious Malfoy, and who else but a Marauder heir to lead them?

_Merlin, help us all._

"Thank you, Hagrid. Could you tell the Headmaster about this? I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide so the students could come into the enormous Entrance Hall. While Minerva performed a few drying charms on the still soaking wet students, the rest stopped to admire the magnificent marble staircase facing them that led to the upper floors.

They followed Minerva across the flagged stone floor, hearing the drone of hundreds of voices from the Great Hall. She showed the first-years into the small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather close together, peering about nervously. Having made sure that the eight trouble makers were standing in the front, she started her usual speech.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "The start-of-term-banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room."

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking," she paused and glared sternly at the bunch in front of her. "- will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

"The Sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered on Longbottom, Black, Weasley and the Malfoys; with their ruffled clothes, messed up hair and collection of bruises.

Longbottom chose that moment to grin sheepishly at her. He was missing a tooth. Minerva narrowed her eyes and asked the eight boys to follow her to a corner of the room. "Now, you will explain to me _what_ were you thinking when you started this foolish confrontation."

They were all talking at the same time, but she was used to this; she was, after all, a teacher. From what she could understand, the conflict started between the Malfoy twins. Then they got support from their respective friends and it turned into a full-blown fist fight. Apparently, Blaise Zabini wasn't even involved. He was just unlucky enough to be in the boat with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle when Black had his little revenge.

Zabini joined the other first-years, and Minerva told the seven boys that their Head of House would decide how they would be punished.

"Move along now," she said in a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Several students jumped, having forgotten that she was still in the room.

"Now, form a line," Minerva told the first-years, "and follow me."

* * *

I got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Harry to my side, Ron behind me, and Reg and Neville behind him. We walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

I had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place, lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led us up there, so that we came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind us.

The twins were already there, grinning at us. So was Hagrid, behind us. I looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. I heard some girl whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

_"It is almost as if there was no ceiling at all..."_

I quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of us. On top of the stool she put a frayed and extremely dirty wizard's hat. Everyone was staring at the hat, so I stared at it too.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth and-

_"Bloody hell, is it singing??"_

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me."

_Ha, that would be funny. Note to self: 'find a smarter hat'_, I thought.

"You can keep your bowlers black,  
your top hats sleek and tall,  
for I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
and I can cap them all."

_"Modest, isn't it?"_, Harry commented wryly.

"There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting hat can't see, -"

_All riiight... Now, that's a disturbing thought!_

"- so try me on and I will tell you  
where you ought to be."

"You might belong in Gryffindor,"

"Where dwell the brave at heart,  
their daring, nerve and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;"

"You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;"

_"Either of those could fit us."_

"Or perhaps in Slytherin -"

I gulped, and Harry placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"You'll make your real friends,  
those cunning folk use any means  
to achieve their ends."

"So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
for I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered. "I'll kill Fred; he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Neville and I chuckled, but Reg didn't seem to hear it. He was chewing on his bottom lip, looking very nervous.

"Chill, Reggie. We'll help you out with your brother even if you end up in Slytherin," I said reassuringly.

Regulus smiled weakly. He didn't look like he truly believed it. But I couldn't judge him, as I felt the same way_. _

_What if I_ _am the one who ends up in Slytherin? _

Although I seemed very confident and sure of myself, it was just an act. If the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for me.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, and sat down. A moment's pause...

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, a ghost waved merrily at her. There were many ghosts around the Hall, and this one looked remarkably similar to the drawing of Friar Tuck that I once saw when reading Robin Hood.

_Wait a second! If the list is in alphabetical order, then-_

"Black, Alexander!"

I stepped forward, mentally swearing. _ARGHH! Why in the bloody hell am I the first bloke to be called? Couldn't I be named something different like Sanders, or Turner?_

_"Or Potter," _Harry muttered, but I wasn't paying attention.

Whispers broke out all over the hall, probably due to my bruised face and still bleeding nose. They had all heard as Hagrid told the Headmaster about the "disturbance" and explained that _that_ was the reason why we were late to the sorting. I wasn't actually there for this, but the twins would later tell us about this in detail.

The last thing I saw before the hat dropped over my eyes was the Hall full of people looking at me curiously. Next second I was looking at the black inside of the hat. I waited, not so patiently.

"Hmm," said a small voice in my ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting ... So where shall I put you?"

I gripped the edges of the stool and thought, _Put me in Gryffindor, please! Or anywhere, just- not Slytherin, not Slytherin._

"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure?"

_"Of course we are!"_ Harry shouted from the sidelines.

"You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that - no?"

_Are you deaf or something??_, I asked while picturing a rather vicious hat-burning scene in my mind.

"Well, if you're so sure - better be... GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat shouted the last word to the whole Hall. I took off the hat and walked shakily towards the Gryffindor table, on the far left.

Percy the Prefect got up and shook my hand politely, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We knew you had it in you!" and "Well done, Black!!". Harry grinned at me and I couldn't help but grin back.

I sat down near a ghost in a ruff. The ghost patted my arm, giving me the sudden, horrible feeling I'd just plunged into a bucket of ice-cold water.

I could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest me sat Hagrid, who rolled his eyes at me, but was clearly holding back a smile. I smiled back. And there, in the middle of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. I recognized him at once from the card I'd got out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole Hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table next to ours clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. 'Brocklehurst, Mandy' went to Ravenclaw too, but 'Brown, Lavender' became the second new Gryffindor and our table exploded with cheers; the twins were catcalling.

'Bulstrode, Millicent' then became the first Slytherin. "_Ugly as hell, that one"._

'Corner, Michael' and 'Cornfoot, Stephen' were then sorted to Ravenclaw; 'Crabbe, Vincent' and 'Davis, Tracey' became Slytherins;

'Entwhistle, Kevin' joined Michael and Stephen, quickly after.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

'Finnigan, Seamus', the sandy-haired boy that had been next to me in the line, sat on the stool for almost a minute before the hat declared him a Slytherin.

'Goldstein, Anthony' and 'Goyle, Gregory' were sorted into Ravenclaw and Slytherin, respectively.

"Granger, Hermione!"

It was the girl who had read 'Hogwarts: A History'. She quickly reached the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat.

"Greengrass, Daphne!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

_Ok, you've gotta admit - not all of them are ugly._

Wayne Hopkins and Megan Jones became Hufflepuffs, and then it was Neville's turn.

He fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with him. When it finally shouted "GRYFFINDOR!", Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog amid gales of laughter to give it to 'MacDougal, Morag' (who was sorted in Ravenclaw). He sat in front of me.

"Well done, mate!" I grinned at him, clapping, and trying hard not to laugh.

"You can laugh, I don't mind" he said, rolling his eyes. He hit me behind the head when I started laughing, though. _Maybe he did mind._

After Ernie Macmillan was sent to Hufflepuff, Reg's brother swaggered forward. The hat had barely touched his head when it screamed,

"SLYTHERIN!"

Draco went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. Unlike Regulus, who looked somewhat greenish when his name was called. His sorting lasted for quite a while, longer than Nev's, rivalling mine. After several minutes, the hat finally decided...

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Neville and I cheered loudly, and Reg sat to his side. Draco was still sending him death glares when Eloise Midgen was sorted in Hufflepuff.

"Moon, Jessica!!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Nott, Theodore!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Parkinson, Pansy!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Patil, Padma!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Patil, Parvati!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Perks, Sally-Ann!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Smith, Zacharias!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

And now there were only four people left to be sorted. 'Thomas, Dean' and 'Turpin, Lisa' became Ravenclaws and then it was Ron's turn. He was very pale by now.

I crossed my fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

We clapped loudly with the rest as Ron skipped over the bench and collapsed into the space next to me.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy pompously across me as 'Zabini, Blaise' was made a Slytherin.

Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.

I couldn't stop grinning. We had all gotten into the same house. It really was a relief to be there, surrounded by my first friends ever, about to eat a _free meal!_

Fred glanced at me, and whispered "He's in our dormitory, asleep"

I nodded my thanks as Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see us all there.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. My grin widened. _Wow, he's so cool!_

"Is he mad?" Neville asked, uncertainly

"Mad?" said Percy airily, having heard him. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Ronald?"

My mouth fell open. The dishes in front of me were now piled with food. I had never seen so many things I liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some reason, mint humbugs.

_"FOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!"_

I was not _starved_ at the orphanage, but there was never enough food for me to eat as much as I wanted. I piled my plate with anything within my reach, and started eating. At first, I tried using fork and knife. But I couldn't, I was too used to eating with my hands. So I just continued eating like a pig, noting that Ron was doing the same. We got into a competition of who ate the most, while the rest talked to the ghost in the ruff, Sir Nicolas de Mimsy-Porpington; or Nearly Headless Nick, as George had so kindly pointed out.

I stared, aghast, as the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before.

_Dammit, I hadn't finished!!!_

A moment later the puddings appeared. Blocks of ice-cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding...

_Right, I forgive them then!_

As I helped myself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to our families. On my other side, Percy was telling the girls about lessons ("Are they difficult? My sister said transfiguration is the worst!"; "_Potions _is the worst, but don't worry. You'll be starting small, and we prefects can help you if you don't understand -")

Starting to feel warm and sleepy, I looked up at the high table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Another teacher, in his absurd _purple_ turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, an aquiline nose and paper-white skin.

The black-haired teacher glared past the turban straight into my eyes. I felt a dull pain on my forehead. He was scowling at me in a similar way to Professor McGonagall.

_Ah, so she's been talking about my prank. Gossip, honestly!_

I waved cheerily at him, with a grin. He looked surprised for a second, before his scowl returned and he looked away.

"Who's the greasy teacher talking to Professor Turban?" I asked Percy.

"Don't be so disrespectful. The one with the turban is Professor Quirrel. No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job (DADA). Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

_Wait a minute! Did he say Snape?_

_"Yeah, he did! Severus Snape, wasn't that mum's friend?"_

I watched Snape for a while, but he didn't look at me again.

At last, the puddings too disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The Hall fell silent.

"Ahem - just a few more words now we are all fed and watered."

_Does he think we're horses or something?_

_"Probably, he he."_

"I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins. "I have also been asked my Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally: I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."

Some people laughed, but I didn't. He didn't say 'most painful death' in a humorous way; it was like he was stating a fact.

"He's not serious?" Neville asked Percy.

"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I think he might have told us Prefects, at least."

"And now before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore.

I noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if he were trying to get a fly off the end and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which raised high above the tables and twisted itself snake-like into words.

"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

And the school bellowed:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest  
And learn until our brains all rot."

Everybody finished the song at different times. Neville, Regulus, Ron and I all sang to an invented cheery tune, and we fell down with laughter at the end. Now I knew why the teachers grimaced; the noise was starting to hurt my ears. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march, which made us laugh even more. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

_"Again? Man, sounds like someone went to see Equus over the summer."_

I blushed at this, knowing more or less what the play was about.

We were about to follow Percy, but the twins came from behind and told us to go with them.

"You don't need Percy -"

"- you have us!"

"Come, now! We know a good shortcut to the common room."

"It's way faster than the one everyone usually follows."

The twins led us through a doorway, hidden behind a colourful tapestry. I tried to remember where it was located, so as to not get lost in the future. There was one long and narrow staircase that, Fred mentioned, led directly to the corridor outside the common room.

"So, what did you firsties do to get McGonagall so mad? Were you the ones that delayed the sorting?" asked George.

"She was glaring at you all through the feast," added Fred.

"She was? I didn't notice!" I said.

"I did," Neville said, shuddering.

The twins looked at us expectantly so we told them about the prank. They looked even more impressed than before, at the train.

"That must be a record!"

"You got into trouble before you were sorted, that's truly amazing!"

_"'Course it is! We're brilliant!"_

Suddenly, they stopped moving. We were several steps ahead before we realized they weren't behind us. A calculating look glinted in their eyes.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, George?"

"You know I am, Fred."

They turned to look at us and asked in unison, "Do you solemnly swear you are up to no good?"

_What are they talking about?_

_"Dunno. Sounds awesome though!"_

Thoroughly confused, we nodded hesitantly.

"Say it!"

We muttered a response.

"Louder! I can't hear you!"

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good!" We each exclaimed with renewed spirits. Whatever this was about, we decided to go along with it. After all, as Ron had explained to us in the train, Weasley Twins = Awesome.

"Do you agree to become Junior Pranksters?"

"Apprentices of mischief?"

"Heirs to the Marauder's legacy?"

_"Did he say what I think he said?"_

"Are you willing to be our fellow trouble-makers?"

_This sounds like fun._

"Our successors in training?"

"YES!" we unanimously cried out. Now I had a better idea of what they were talking about, and I totally agreed. Also, they mentioned the Marauders. That would have been enough for me to follow them blindly.

_"Of course not. I wouldn't let you do something truly risky."_

They smiled at us and said they would teach us all the shortcuts and secret passages at Hogwarts. They also said something about 'The Map' (_yeah, with capitals_), but they didn't explain. Ron, Neville, Regulus and I were practically bouncing with excitement; we didn't even stop when Fred said we had to pass their 'test' before it was official. We were not really scared; we were now under the Twin Terrors' wing, and could look forwards to years of exciting adventures, hilarious pranks, and loads of teacher-tormenting.

* * *

A few floors below, in the teachers' lounge, Professor Minerva McGonagall sneezed, getting a sudden feeling of dread.

* * *

We continued on our trek up the stairs and finally arrived. At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," said George, smirking.

The portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall.

_Why is it round? Wouldn't it make more sense if it was rectangular?_

We all scrambled through it - Neville needed a leg up - and found ourselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs. Percy and the girls hadn't arrived yet, which proved how useful shortcuts could be in here.

"Want to get Copper to your dormitory, Alex?"

_Yes! I miss him._

"Yeah, sure. You guys don't mind, do you?" I asked my roommates.

"It's okay" they nodded.

Fred showed me through the door on the left to the boy's dormitories. He went to get Copper and then we left him, grumbling sleepily, in the first-years dorm. It had 4 four-poster beds hung with deep-red velvet curtains. Our trunks had already been brought up, so the little cub was placed on the bed that had my trunk in front.

When we went back down, Percy was arriving. He was furious.

_I seem to have that effect on people, lately._

"Where were you?! You were supposed to follow me with the other first-years!" he motioned to the four smirking girls behind him. They were obviously enjoying seeing us get scolded.

_"Brats!"_

"I'm sorry, Percy!" I said with my most adorable pout and innocent voice. "We got distracted with the moving paintings, and then you weren't there. And then we got lost! And then the twins found us…" My rambling was entirely intentional, and it gave good results. Some of the older girls in the common room cooed at my adorableness.

_Oh, I'm so cute._

His expression softened and he sighed. "Perhaps it's my fault, I should have done a head-count and gone back to find you. Thank you, Fred, George."

_"It sounded painful."_

_What?_

_"Thanking them."_

_It probably was._

"Girls to the right, boys to the left. The doors are labeled with the respective years, so you will find your dormitory easily. Good night."

He led the way to our dorms, and I stuck out my tongue at the girls behind his back. They couldn't do anything but glare because, at that moment, the female prefect appeared and told them to go to their rooms.

Once in our dorm, we sat on our beds and exchanged looks quietly. It had been a really eventful day. A pet, a friendship, confessions, a fight, a prank, the sorting, the food, the twins, Percy and the girls. We were exhausted, and with good reason. I could've honestly said that was one of the best days of my life. Perhaps the best, I couldn't remember.

I curled up in bed, with my left hand touching Copper's fur, and that's how I fell asleep. Surprisingly, I had no nightmares. It was a strange thing to happen, but I was only content with having a full-night's sleep; with no worries, no abusive relatives, and no mysterious green light.

* * *

That's it for this chapter! Did you like? Did you hate it? Come on and tell me, just make click here

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	5. ALL CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN REWRITTEN

I have rewritten all chapters now; next time I update this story, you will find a completely new chapter waiting for you - I'll try and make it as long as the last couple (over 5,000 words each). I know we are not supposed to do _this_ (using an entire chapter for an author note)_,_ but I don't want people to think this is an abandoned story, 'cause it isn't. Don't review - or flame - in this "chapter"; when Chapter 5 is ready, I will delete this and put it up again as the proper chapter. So, if you want to leave feedback (=D) please put it in another chapter, I don't want it to be lost when I erase this. I hope you like the new version of chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4.


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